Part 8

Monkey Flower (_Mimulus ringens_) is a perennial with a smooth, square, hollow stem growing from 1 to 3 feet in height and branching considerably. The leaves, seated oppositely on the stem, are lance-shaped, pointed, and slightly toothed. The flowers are few in number and are on long, slender pedicels from the axils of the upper leaves. They open one or two at a time. The pale-purple flowers have two large lips, the upper divided into two lobes and the lower one into three, all broad and wavy. Four white stamens and a pistil nearly fill the throat, at the mouth of which are two bright orange-yellow spots.

A small store of nectar is secreted in the base of the flower tube. The double-yellow palate serves to close the entrance to the tube so that small useless insects may not be allowed to partake of the sweets within. When, however, the burly bumblebee alights upon the lower lip, his weight causes it to droop and allow easy access to its meagre supply of nectar. Monkey Flower is found in wet places from N. B. to Manitoba and southward.

(A) American Brooklime (_Veronica americana_), the prettiest of the Speedwells or Veronicas, is a very frail plant.

The stem is stout, smooth, hollow, and quite weak; the lower part spreads over the ground and frequently takes root at the angles of the lower leaves. At intervals, branches rise to heights of 6 to 15 inches, bearing from the axils of the upper leaves small four-parted blue flowers in loose racemes. The light-blue petals have purple stripes and a white spot at the base.

Brooklime has a long season of bloom, being found in flower from May until September. It is common in moist ditches and along brooks or in swamps, from Newfoundland to Alaska and south to Va. and Mo.

(B) Common Speedwell (_Veronica officinalis_) is a popular little plant. The prostrate wooly stem is erect at the end and terminates in a raceme of pale-lavender, four-petalled flowers, the lower petal of which is conspicuously smaller than the other three, a common trait of this genus. Speedwell is quite common through the United States and southern Canada.

(A) Purple Gerardia (_Gerardia purpurea_) is a pretty little species that decorates low, moist, sandy fields and meadows with its beautiful purple-pink blossoms. The slender stem is quite branchy and averages about a foot in height, though it occasionally attains heights of 2 feet. From three to eight flowers, opening one at a time, grow along the ends of each branch. The corolla is broad and about 1 in. long, bright purplish pink, the mouth of the funnel spreading into five rounded lobes, spotted or downy within.

All the Gerardias and Foxgloves are quite parasitic, attaching their roots to those of other plants and getting part of their sustenance from them. This species is found chiefly along the coasts of the Atlantic, the Great Lakes, and the Gulf of Mexico. It blooms from August to October.

(B) Smooth False Foxglove (_Gerardia virginica_) has a smooth, branching stem from 2 to 6 feet high. The large, lemon-yellow flowers measure nearly 2 inches long by an inch broad. The plant grows from Me. to Minn. and southward and blooms during August and Sept.

Scarlet Painted-cup; Indian Paint Brush (_Castilleja coccinea_). This singular species is a parasite-that is, it fastens its roots upon those of other plants and takes their nourishment from them.

The slender, hollow, reddish, angular, and hairy stem grows from a tuft of smooth-edged, oblong leaves. The stem leaves are rather small and, the upper ones especially, have the ends three-lobed; those near and surrounding the flowers have their ends scarlet, as though they had been dipped in a pot of red paint. The flower’s corolla is almost concealed in the two-lobed cylindrical calyx, the end of which is usually a brilliant scarlet. The corolla is irregular, greenish yellow, with a narrow upper lip and a three-lobed lower one. They have, set in the upper lip, four unequal stamens and a long pistil.

The Scarlet Painted-cup is found in low, sandy ground from Mass. to Manitoba and southward.

Wood Betony; Lousewort (_Pedicularis canadensis_) is a peculiar plant that we find in dry woods and thickets and often along roadsides.

The flowering stems are stout, hairy, and leafy; they rise to heights of 6 to 18 inches. The leaves are all fernlike in form; many of them rise on long, hairy stems from the roots and smaller ones alternate up the flower stalk. The flower spike is short and densely flowered and contains many small bract-like leaves among the tubular flowers. The corolla is composed of two lips, the upper one being arched and strongly curved or hooked at the tip. The upper lip varies from a yellowish green in freshly opened flowers to a dull reddish on the mature blossoms, this latter being the beefsteak color alluded to in one of its common names.

Wood Betony is found from Nova Scotia to Manitoba and southward. It is quite abundant throughout its range and its flowers may be found from early May into the latter part of July.

BROOM-RAPE FAMILY (_Orobanchaceæ_)

(A) One-flowered Cancer-root; Broom-rape (_Orobanche uniflora_) is an attractive little parasite with a subterranean scaly stem, each branch sending up one to four very slender stalks from 3 to 6 inches high and bearing at the top a single blossom each.

Their color varies from a pale purple to a cream color and they average about three quarters of an inch in length. It is found in moist woods throughout the United States and southern Canada.

(B) Beech Drops; Cancer-root (_Epifagus virginiana_). This peculiar growth is found almost exclusively in beech woods.

The stem attains heights of 6 to 20 inches. At the ends of the branches are a number of curved, tubular flowers; these are stained a dull magenta.

Beech Drops attaches its roots to those of beech trees and gets all its sustenance from them. It blooms form August to Oct. and ranges from N. B. to Minn. and southward.

BIGNONIA FAMILY (_Bignoniaceæ_)

Trumpet Creeper (_Tecoma radicans_) is an exceedingly beautiful woody vine having a southern disposition.

The stem grows from 20 to 40 feet long and is either prostrate or climbing. Sometimes it extends over the ground, climbing over the bushes that may be in its path, and again it may take an upward course and climb the trunks and branches of small trees. As it is a hardy plant it is often seen in cultivation and is used to decorate porches in the North.

The flowers are trumpet-shaped, red within and tawny or orange on the outside of the tube. They grow in terminal clusters of two to nine blossoms, each in a cup-shaped, two-parted calyx. The corolla is about 2½ inches long and flares into five rounded lobes. Four anther-bearing stamens and a pistil are in the upper part of the tube. The leaves grow oppositely on the stem and are each composed of 7 to 11 ovate, toothed leaflets. We find this vine from N. J. to Ia. and southward.

PLANTAIN FAMILY (_Plantaginaceæ_)

(A) Common Plantain (_Plantago major_) is a very familiar weed about ill-kept dooryards. The leaves are large and spreading; broad-oblong, on long, troughed stems that radiate from the root.

The flower stalk rises to about the same height as the next, but the flower-head is very long. The tiny white flowers open in circles about this head, slowly making their way toward the top in their succession of bloom, which lasts from June until September.

(B) English Plantain (_Plantago lanceolata_). The leaves all radiate from the base; they are lanceolate, sharply pointed, and set on long, troughed stems.

The flower stem is stiff and smooth and attains heights of 6 to 18 inches. The head is short and studded with tiny, four-parted, dull-white flowers, with long, slender stamens. There are often perfect staminate and pistillate flowers on the same plant. It is now as abundant in all parts of our range as it is in its native European home.

MADDER FAMILY (_Rublaceæ_)

(A) Bluets; Innocence (_Houstonia cærulea_). These are very dainty and beautiful little plants that decorate our fields profusely from April until July. The stems are very slender, about 3 to 6 inches tall, and have a few pairs of tiny leaves; larger leaves appear in tufts from the base. The perianth is slender and the lobes flare widely; the corolla is about one half inch in width, white, with the ends of the lobes pale blue or violet, and stained with yellow toward the centre of the flower.

(B) Partridgeberry (_Mitchella repens_) is a most beautiful little trailing vine with rounded, opposite, white-veined leaves along the creeping stem, that extends 6 to 12 inches from the root. Two beautiful little four-parted, bell-shaped flowers terminate each branch. They are downy white within, and pinkish and smooth on the outside. They have a fragrance similar to that of the Water Lily. A double red berry replaces the flowers in fall. It is common in woods throughout our range.

HONEYSUCKLE FAMILY (_Caprifoliaceæ_)

(A) Bush Honeysuckle (_Lonicera canadensis_) is a bush or shrub with thin, straggling, brown branches, attaining heights of 2 to 4 feet. The leaves are thin, light green, somewhat heart-shaped and short stemmed. They grow oppositely on the branches and have small stipules between them. The flowers are borne in pairs from the axils of the terminal leaves. The Naples yellow tubes are about three fourths of an inch in length and have five lobes. This species is common from Quebec to Manitoba and south to Pa. and Mich.

(B) Twinflower (_Linnæa borealis americana_) is one of the most delicately beautiful of our wild flowers. The stem is slender, trailing, reddish brown, and from 6 to 24 inches long; at intervals very slender, leafy flower stalks rise, bearing at the end two pendulous, bell-shaped, white, fragrant blossoms; the corolla, which has five lobes, is crimson-pink within. The evergreen leaves are short stemmed, almost round, and scallop-toothed. Cool, mossy woods from Lab. to Minn.

Coral or Trumpet Honeysuckle (_Lonicera sempervirens_) is a very ornamental, climbing, woody vine growing from 8 to 15 feet in length. It trails over bushes or entwines its stem about the branches of trees. The lower leaves have short stems, are rounded-oval in shape, and opposite, as are those of all the members of this family. The leaves near the ends of the branches are united at their bases, clasping the stems and forming cup-shaped structures. The strikingly colored flowers grow in whorls on spikes terminating the branches. The tubular corollas are about two inches in length, bright red on the outside and yellow within; the opening of the corolla spreads but very little and is five-lobed. In the South the leaves of the Coral Honeysuckle are evergreen but in the North they are deciduous. In fall where each flower was located during the summer we find an orange-red berry. This species is distributed from Conn. and Neb. southward.

BLUEBELL FAMILY (_Campanulaceæ_)

(A) Bellflower (_Campanula rapunculoides_) (European). This beautiful European species is a frequent escape from gardens and is quite firmly established in several localities in the Eastern States.

The simple stems are erect and quite tall, ranging from 1 to 3 feet high. The toothed, lance-shaped leaves alternate along the lower portion of the stem and the bell-shaped purplish flowers are in loose spikes on the terminal portions.

(B) Harebell; Bluebell (_Campanula rotundifolia_) is the “Blue Bells of Scotland” so familiar to us in song and verse. It is a very slender-stemmed species but very hardy, as attested by the altitudes at which it is found on mountains. The flowering stems are very slender and wiry, sparsely set with linear leaves; they usually branch near the summit, each division bearing a demure, drooping violet bell. It is found in bloom from June until September in rocky or sandy places in Canada and northern United States.

LOBELIA FAMILY (_Lobeliaceæ_)

Cardinal Flower (_Lobelia cardinalis_). Although exceedingly bright colored, these flowers are rightly classed as among our most beautiful wild ones. As might be expected from their color, they are visited by and chiefly fertilized by the Ruby-throated Hummingbird.

The simple stem grows to heights of 2 to 4 feet, from perennial creeping rootstalks that often throw up new plants; the stalk is hollow and rather closely set with alternating, lanceshaped leaves, the lower ones stemmed and toothed, the upper ones clasping the stem and nearly smooth-edged. The showy flower-spike is loosely set with bright red flowers; the narrow, tubular corolla proceeds from a five-parted calyx, and ends in two lips, the upper having two erect, narrow lobes and the lower a broad three-cleft one, velvety scarlet; the five stamens are united in an erect tube. The Cardinal Flower is found in moist ground, especially along brooks, blooms in August and September and is found from N. S. to Minn. and southward.

(A) Spiked Lobelia (_Lobelia spicata_) is a small flowered species having a simple leafy stem from 1 to 4 feet in height. The leaves vary greatly in shape from lance-shaped to oblong, and decrease in size rapidly as they approach the flower spike. The small, pale blue-violet flowers are set in short smooth calyces. The upper lip of the corolla has two small lobes and the lower one is divided into three, larger, spreading ones. It is commonly found in dry, sandy soil from N. S. to Manitoba and southward.

(B) Indian Tobacco (_Lobelia inflata_) is the most common of the Lobelias; it is found growing everywhere in either sandy or moist soil, in woods or in fields. The alternating leaves are pointed-oval and sparingly wavy-toothed; the lower ones are quite large, while the upper ones are very small. The simple stem is stout and quite hairy; it grows from 1 to 2 feet in height. The little blue-violet flowers are barely one quarter inch long, each seated in a large, smooth inflated calyx.

The flower calyces enlarge after the corollas have withered away, and form round seed-pods.

COMPOSITE FAMILY (_Compositæ_)

(A) Tall Blazing Star (_Liatris scariosa_) is a tall, handsome perennial that grows in dry situations and attains heights of 2 to 6 feet. A long spike containing numerous, quite large flower-heads adorns the top of the stem. These heads, which are about ¾ in. in diameter, have a very disheveled appearance for the magenta-purple rays emerge in all directions; they are contained in a large imbricated involucre. The leaves are stiff, lanceolate, and closely alternated along the stem. It is found from Me. to Mich. and southward.

(B) Ironweed (_Veronia noveboracensis_) is a tall (3 to 7 feet) and smooth-stemmed member of the Composite Family. The alternating leaves are lanceolate and finely toothed. The flower-heads are grouped in flat-topped clusters. The rays are slender and very numerous, giving the heads the appearance of little thistles. This species blooms in August and September, at which season it is one of the characteristic plants in moist ground near the seashore.

(A) Joe Pye Weed (_Eupatorium purpureum_) is a very familiar and pretty species. The simple, rather slender, stem is very tall, attaining heights of from 2 to 10 feet. The stem is usually stained purplish and is set at intervals with whorls of three to six, rough, coarsely toothed leaves; these latter have short stems, rather broad bases, and are sharp-pointed. The flowers grow in flat-topped terminal clusters. Each floret is of a rosy purple color that has projecting styles that give the flowers a very fuzzy appearance.

Joe Pye Weed is commonly found in moist places from Newfoundland to Minn. and southward, flowering during August and September.

(B) Thoroughwort; Boneset (_Eupatorium perfoliatum_) is a flowering herb, dearly beloved by the old-fashioned housewife and equally detested by the small boy. It was, and still is, one of the most commonly used home remedies. The stem is stout, hairy, and 1 to 5 feet tall. The opposite leaves are perfoliate, that is the ends are joined together. It is very common in swamps or thickets everywhere.

(A) Golden Aster (_Chrysopsis mariana_) is, as one would judge from its species name, very partial to the seacoast, where it may be found in profusion in dry sandy places and along roadsides.

The flowers grow in rather loose, flat-topped clusters, each head being on a rather long, slightly sticky peduncle. The tubular and ray florets proceed from a bell-shaped involucre composed of overlapping bracts. Its period of bloom is during August and September and it ranges from N. Y. and Pa. southward to Fla. and La.

(B) Curved-leaved Golden Aster (_Chrysopsis falcata_) is a very beautiful species with a silvery, wooly stem, 4 to 10 inches high, closely crowded with stiff, linear, downy, slightly recurved leaves. The golden-yellow flowers spread about an inch; the tubular florets in the centre have a brownish orange tinge but the numerous straps or ray-flowers are the brightest of orange-yellow. This species loves dry, sandy soil and is most abundant near the coast from Cape Cod to the pine barrens of New Jersey. It may be found in bloom from the latter part of July until September.

GOLDEN-RODS Genus (_Solidago_)

The Genus Solidago is a very large one, comprising more than eighty species.

(A) Silver-rod; White Golden-rod (_Solidago bicolor_) bears the distinction of being the only one of our very numerous Golden-rods that does not have golden flowers. Those of this species are white or cream-colored. The stem is usually simple and attains heights of from 10 to 30 inches.

Silver-rod blooms during August and September on dry ground, frequently along roadsides or the edges of woods, from N. B. to Minn. and southward to the Gulf.

(B) Blue-stemmed Golden-rod (_Solidago cæsia_) blooms during September and October. The simple stem is closely set with lanceolate, toothed leaves, and from the axils of those on the upper half of the stem appear loose racemes of flowers. The heads are rather larger than those of most of the Golden-rods and have from three to five, comparatively long, golden rays surrounding the tubular florets.

(A) Early Golden-rod (_Solidago juncea_) is a very common species and one of the earliest to bloom, being found in flower from July until September. The flowers are in a large graceful cluster, composed of numerous racemes, at the summit of a tall, simple stem 2 to 4 feet high. The stem is smooth, angular, and usually a ruddy brown. The leaves are smooth, lance-shaped; the lower ones toothed, but the upper with nearly even edges. The golden-yellow flowers have eight to ten rays. Found in dry places from N. B. to Sask. and southward.

(B) Rough-stemmed Golden-rod (_Solidago rugosa_) is a very hairy species, rough to the touch. The stem attains heights of 1 to 7 feet. The flower racemes spread in a broad, pyramidal panicle. The leaves are feather-veined, quite hairy and coarsely toothed.

Canada Golden-rod (_Solidago canadensis_) is perhaps the most common and the handsomest of the genus. The flower cluster is very large and plume-like. The leaves are thin, narrowly lanceolate and finely toothed. The rather slender stem ascends to heights of 2 to 7 feet. The flower-heads are rather small.

Lance-leaved Golden-rod (_Solidago graminifolia_). This species differs greatly in appearance from the usual form of most of the Golden-rods.

The stem is simple, angular, and slightly rough; it ascends 2 to 5 feet and near the summit sends up many slender wiry, leafy branches supporting flat-topped flower clusters. The flowers are crowded closely together but are very small and rather dull-colored; they have 12 to 20 minute rays. The leaves are small and narrowly lanceolate; they have three to five ribs and are toothless but have a rough edge. It blooms from August until October, very commonly from N. S. to Sask. and southward to N. J. and Mo.

Showy Golden-rod (_Solidago speciosa_) is a large species, from 3 to 7 feet tall, with a stout simple stem and a magnificent, bright golden-yellow, plume-like head; the flowers are comparatively large and have usually five rays. Readily distinguished by its leaves, the lower ones rather large, contracting into a margined stem, gradually decreasing in size to small lance-shaped ones at the top of the stem.

THE ASTERS Genus (_Aster_)

The members of this genus are exceedingly numerous in species. They are very variable; some have large flower-heads, others tiny ones; some are quite tall, others barely rise above the ground; some have few flowers on a plant while on others they are exceedingly numerous. Their colors are usually some shade of purple or white.

New England Aster (_Aster novæ-anglæ_) is one of the largest of the genus, its stem attaining heights of from 2 to 6 feet.

The stem is stout, branched, and rather rough. The leaves are soft, hairy, lance-shaped, and clasp the stem by a somewhat heart-shaped base. The flowers are in a broad corymb at the top of the stem. They are quite large, measuring about an inch across; the 30 to 40 narrow rays are of a purplish color, often quite bright.

This species is common from Me. to Minn. and southward, blooming from August to October, frequenting dry ground.

Smooth Aster (_Aster lævis_) is a handsome species having a smooth, stout stem, from 2 to 4 feet high. The flowers are in lovely terminal clusters, each blossom measuring about an inch across; they are usually light violet-blue in color, although color is very variable with all the so-called blue asters; each disk is surrounded by 15 to 30 rays. The leaves are nearly smooth-edged, lanceolate, clasping the stem with a distinct heart-shaped base. The Smooth Aster is abundant from Me. to Minn. and southward, growing in dry soil and blooming in September and October.

New York Aster (_Aster novi-belgii_) is one of the very commonest of the “blue asters.” The stalk is slender, very branchy, and grows from 1 to 3 feet in height. The leaves are commonly narrowly lanceolate but are very variable; they slightly clasp the stem with their bases. The numerous flower-heads are a trifle more than an inch across, the yellowish centre being surrounded by 15 to 24 lilac or blue-violet rays. This species abounds from Newfoundland to Florida and perhaps west to the Miss. Valley. It blooms in September and October.

(A) Heart-leaved Aster (_Aster cordifolius_) is a common species, readily identified by the shape of its leaves that are, the lower ones especially, heart-shaped and on quite long, slender, ciliate petioles. The stalk is slender, branchy, and grows from 1 to 4 feet high. The flowers are numerous but comparatively small, about ⅝ inch across; they have brownish yellow centres and 10 to 20 lilac, or lighter colored rays. It is a very common species in thin woods and thickets, or along their edges. Found from N. B. to Minn. and southward, flowering in September and October.